Primary address designation FAQ

Q: What is a "Primary Address"?

A: A primary address is defined as being the lowest alphanumeric address (based on house number) at a given location/building. 

Q: What are the rules for assigning or determining the "Primary Address"?

A: If there are two unique addresses at the same location, the lowest house number will be established as the primary. If only one house number exists, the primary will be determined by the lowest alphanumeric unit. There can only be one primary address for each location/building.

Q: Does the "Primary Address" need to be without units?

A: No, primary addresses can either be with or without units. If there is no base address (i.e. an address with no unit) at a location, then the address with the lowest alphanumeric unit will be the primary address.

Q: What if there are two addresses at a location and one has a base address and the other does not?

A: The "Primary Address" will still be established based on alphanumerical order of the house number. If the address with the lowest house number has no base address and only addresses with units, then the lowest unit will become the primary address. The absence of a base address has no bearing on the primary assignment.

• Examples of two addresses at one location:
  • 100 Main St & 100 Main St Unit B
    • 100 Main St will be the primary address because it is the address without a unit.
  • 100 Main St Apt A & 100 Main St Apt B
    
    • 100 Main St Apt A will be the primary as Apt A is the first unit in alphanumeric order.
  • 100 Main St Ste 1 & 100 Main St Apt 2
    • 100 Main St Ste 1 will be the primary as we assign the primary based on the lowest alphanumeric unit value, not on the unit type. 'Ste' and 'Apt' will not have an influence on the primary assignment.

Q: Why might there be an 'Apt 10' as the primary when 'Apt 8 or 9' exist at the same location?

A: Our logic compares the units character by character so 1 in 10 would come before 8 and 9.  The reason for this is there are times in there is a 1A or a 1B so using a character approach has been our standard.